Cameron Murray plays down concerns around South Sydney’s winless start to the season as skipper insists ‘no alarm bells are ringing yet’ – and Damian Cook warns hot-headed Latrell Mitchell NOT to let emotions get the better of him against the Roosters
- Cameron Murray insists ‘no alarm bells are ringing’ at South Sydney Rabbitohs
- The Bunnies are winless from their opening two games of the new NRL season
- They were tipped to struggle but Murray says there is cause for optimism
- Damian Cook has warned Latrell Mitchell not to get drawn into emotional battle
Cameron Murray has played down concerns surrounding the Bunnies’ winless start to the campaign, with the skipper insisting there’s ‘no alarm bells ringing at Redfern just yet.’
South Sydney were tipped to struggle this year after losing star halfback Adam Reynolds to the Broncos, as well as Dane Gagai to the Knights and supercoach Wayne Bennett.
So it came as no surprise to see Jason Demetriou’s side lose their opening two games of the season, albeit in close fashion to the Broncs and Melbourne Storm.
South Sydney captain Cameron Murray has played down concerns about their poor start
And ahead of their blockbuster clash with bitter rivals the Roosters on Friday night, Murray says his side are not too worried about their two-game skid, with their performances providing cause for optimism.
‘There’s no alarm bells ringing at Redfern yet,’ Murray said via Fox Sports.
‘I don’t think our problem has been our energy and our effort, it’s more been our execution.
‘If we did need a game to rally together as a club and a community, coming up against the Roosters is it, but I don’t think that’s where we’re going wrong.’
Bunnies hooker Damian Cook also holds a positive outlook despite their slow start to the season.
The Bunnies are winless in their first two games, and have been tipped to struggle this year
‘There’s still a lot of positives to take out of the two games we’ve had,’ he added.
‘We’ve beaten ourselves. We’re dropping the ball, execution hasn’t been good and it’s probably how we’ve been training. There’s a few things we’ve let go, we’ve noticed that and gotten right on top of it.
‘All we can do right now is fix that and get a win this weekend and get going.’
Unsurprisingly, fullback Latrell Mitchell will be centre of attention on Friday night. Last time these two sides met, he was sin-binned for a high tackle on former team-mate Joey Manu, resulting in a ban which saw him miss the finals.
Manu suffered a fractured cheekbone following the incident and Cook expects Mitchell to be targeted by the Roosters in an emotional contest.
Souths star Latrell Mitchell has been urged to keep his emotions in check against the Roosters
‘Why wouldn’t you?’ He’s a star player, one of our best,’ he said when asked if Mitchell will receive extra attention.
‘You want to get them off your game. We have seen sides do it to other players as well, so I don’t see why they wouldn’t try to.
‘But I think Latrell is maturing as a player, he is at such a young age and done so much already.
‘Each year he has become more mature as a player and knows how to handle these things.’
All eyes will be on the 24-year-old fullback as to how he handles his emotions when the Roosters inevitably target him.
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